After the reactor accident at Chernobyl in 1986, she found
her true calling: since then, Cornelia Hesse-Honegger has been studying and
drawing malformed insects, especially true bugs (Heteroptera), which she
collects in fallout areas and in the periphery of nuclear facilities. Building
on her 25 years of experience as a scientific illustrator at the Natural History
Museum of the University of Zurich (Switzerland), she has created beautiful
evidence of a threatened animal world, which has been displayed in international
art galleries. Together with the former scientific editor Peter Wallimann,
Hesse-Honegger has now summarized her comprehensive studies in the journal
Chemistry & Biodiversity.

At the time, many experts were convinced that the
radioactive radiation after the Chernobyl accident would be far too negligible
to affect true bugs or other life forms. However, Hesse-Honegger discovered a
shocking degree of deformation in bugs from fallout areas in Sweden. From 1986
until 2007, she systematically examined the morphological appearance of various
types of true bugs around the world. She collected more than 16,000 Heteroptera,
examined them in detail, identified different types of malformations and
produced over 300 detailed illustrations. In areas around nuclear power plants
and nuclear reprocessing facilities in Switzerland (Aargau), France (La Hague),
and Germany (Gundremmingen), for example, severe disturbances and malformations
were found in true bugs and other insects. In some areas, over 30 % of the bugs
examined had some damage, such as missing feeler sections, malformed wings,
asymmetric body segments, ulcers, black spots, or altered pigmentation. This
fraction is significantly higher than that found in populations in largely
undisturbed habitat (1 to 3 % maximum).

This study also revealed that it is not the distance from a
nuclear facility that determines the damage, but rather the wind direction and
local topology: areas in the downwind of a nuclear facility are much more highly
affected by malformations than protected areas. Radionuclides such as tritium,
carbon-14, or iodine-131 are constantly emitted by nuclear power plants, are
transported by the wind as aerosols, and accumulate in the host plants of the
Heteroptera. Such a low but long-lasting dose of radiation can be far more
damaging than a short-term high dosage (Petkau effect). In addition, “hot” alpha
and beta particles are significantly more dangerous than gamma radiation,
because they are absorbed by the body and essentially irradiate it from within.
True bugs seem to be particularly sensitive to this.

Hesse-Honnegger cites a press release (http://www.BfS.de)
published in December 2007 by the German Federal Institute for Radiation
Protection: “The risk of getting leukemia for children under five years of age
rises, the closer their home is to a nuclear power plant.” Hesse-Honegger
recommends reconsideration of the current threshold values for radioactive
emissions. The biological effect of radiation is very difficult to estimate.
True bugs may be used as sensitive “bioindicators” for future studies.

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